2016 INTERNATIONAL
ROUNDTABLE SERIES
Education:
ICCPM Becomes an RTO
Certificate IV in Responding to Organisational
Complexity - Available in Australia
Articles:
Effective Change Management Capability Building
Why Waste a Good Crisis?
Building High-Performance Project Talent for
Complex Environments
Vacancy:
ICCPM Director of Educaton and Research

CEO MESSAGE
We started back in January
with the welcome news that we
had successfully navigated the
governments process and have
been approved to be a Registered
Training Organisation (RTO) under
the National Vocational Education
and Training Regulator Act 2011.
We were then advised a couple of
weeks later that our application
to
have
our
Complexity
Awareness Program approved
as an accredited course under
the
Australian
Qualifications
Framework (AQF) had also
been approved, albeit with a
name change; the new name
- Certificate IV in Responding
to Organisational Complexity
(101095NAT).
So what does all of that mean?
Well apart from the recognition
of the significant amount of
work and effort skilfully lead by
Cathy Baljak to achieve both
results. It means that we have
been assessed and recognised as
providing high quality education
products and delivery, with the
appropriate processes, policies
and systems in place to meet
the needs of clients, students
and the regulators standards for
education delivery in Australia.
It also means that we now have
the only course on the Australian
National Training Register that
provides education focussed on
responding to organisational
complexity at the certificate IV
level which is designed to meet
workplace needs. It also now
means that there is a recognised
development pathway for those
interested in working in complex
environments,
on
complex
projects and programmes into the
future.

required in Australia. I will also be
looking to develop delivery partners
in countries that can demonstrate
commitment to deliver the product
to the highest possible standards at
some point into the future.
This year we will be conducting a
series of international roundtables as
part of our commitment to Thought
Leadership in the complexity
and managing complex projects
space, the details are contained in
this edition of Connect, I hope to
see many contributions from the
community either at the roundtables
or via submission, the theme is
Contracting for Success in Complex
Projects.
We welcomed two new partners
over the Christmas period General
Dynamics Land Systems â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Australia
and Telstra, I am looking forward to
working with both partners over the
coming year and beyond.

Finally it has come to pass that
with the successes of ICCPM over
the last couple of years we need
more resources to deliver the best
outcomes. We are now seeking
a new Director of Education and
Research. Details are included in
this edition of Connect and are
available on our website. It is a
What does it mean from an wonderful opportunity for the right
international
perspective?
It person to work in a small dynamic
means that when we deliver the team on some of the best content
program internationally it will in the world, so if you are interested
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
be delivered to the same high in making a real difference please
quality standards as would be consider applying.

CONTENTS
FEATURES

ARTICLES
Effective Change Management

2016 International
Roundtable Series
4-5

NEWS
GDLS Becomes a Corporate Partner 6
TELSTRA Joins ICCPM

7

ICCPM Sponsors UTS Student Prize

8

Capability Building

14 - 19

Book Review - Performance
Coaching for Complex
Projects

20 - 21

Why Waste a Good Crisis

22 - 24

Building High-Performance
Project Talent for Complex
Environments

26 - 27

14 - 27

ICCPM Appoints Tim Cummins to its
Board

9

6-9

ICCPM NETWORK
Board Profile

30

Fellows Profile

31

Traci-Ann Byrnes

32

Hayden Kozlow

33

10

Certificate IV in Responding to
Complexity available in Australia

11

Systems Thinking Course

12

10 - 13

What are Project Management
Academics Reading About?
28 - 29

LINKS & EVENTS
34

Food For Thought

ICCPM Becomes an RTO

ACADEMIC-IN-RESIDENCE

30 - 33

Calendar

EDUCATION

34 - 35

28 - 29

34 - 35
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ICCPM CONNECT | 3

2016 INTERNATIONAL
ROUNDTABLE SERIES

2016 INTERNATIONAL
Contracting for Succes

The International Centre for Complex Project Management (ICCPM), in collaboration
with the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM)
will run an International Roundtable Series in 2016 to consider the topic Contracting for
Success in Complex Projects.
Successful project outcomes depend on the right forms of contract and supportive
contract management. Too often those in project management and those in contract/
commercial management experience similar challenges, yet do not combine their efforts
or resources to drive improvement.
This initiative seeks to bring together senior leaders to share perspectives and to use
the collective wisdom of the participants to confirm the issues that currently prevent
contract and project alignment, and to create specific and practical steps that will drive
major improvement, with the principal outcome being a clear definition of further action
required.

Read the Discussion Paper at page 38.
4 | ICCPM CONNECT

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

2016 INTERNATIONAL
ROUNDTABLE SERIES

L ROUNDTABLE SERIES
ss in Complex Projects

LOCATIONS

Roundtable events will be held between April and September in a number of locations gloablly.
One-day facilitated roundtable workshops are being planned for Washington, Ottawa, London,
Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

DELEGATES

Delegates will include Fellows and members of IACCM and ICCPM and executive level
practitioners working in complex project, program and contract and commercial environments in
the private and public sector. Attendance will be by invitation only and numbers at each event
will be restricted to 30-50.

SPONSORSHIP

We invite you to partner with us and showcase your organisation to commercial and programme
managers working in complex environments. Opportunities exist to sponsor the entire series or
an individual event.

CONTACT US

To find out more or to register your interest please visit www.roundtables2016.com
admin@iccpm.com or +61 2 6120 5110

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ICCPM CONNECT | 5

NEWS

General Dynamics Land Systems - Australia

Becomes an ICCPM Corporate Partner

It is with great pleasure that we welcome General
Dynamics Land Systems - Australia (GDLS-A) as
a corporate partner of ICCPM. This partnership
is not only a commitment from leading edge
companies such as GDLS-A to the understanding
and management of complexity, it also clearly
establishes the terms and conditions under which
ICCPM and GDLS-A can support and work together
for mutual benefit to optimise the delivery of
complex projects.
ICCPM MD/CEO Deborah Hein said, “GDLS-A
becomes our third Adelaide based corporate
partner, joining BAE Systems and ASC Pty Ltd. This
may say something about the degree of complexity
that these Defence Industry companies are clearly
dealing with on a day-to-day basis.

I am looking forward to assisting GDLS-A in
maintaining a project management capability
that is aligned to the increasing complexities of
defence programs and most importantly having
GDLS-A staff share their knowledge, experience
and wisdom through participation in our thought
leadership and networking activities.”
Ian Cook - Managing Director of General
Dynamics Land Systems - Australia said, “Not
only will ICCPM provide us with ready access to
world class resources in this vital field, it will also
help us to identify and implement best practice
in managing complexity as Defence moves to a
more strategic relationship with Industry under
the First Principles Review.”

General Dynamics Land Systems provides a full spectrum of land and amphibious combat systems,
subsystems and components worldwide. Combat vehicle systems are our core business which results
in continuous internal investment in research and development, and continuous production at
our manufacturing plants and global suppliers. Our strengths are world-class design and systems
integration, best in class reliability and durability and innovative life cycle support.
General Dynamics Land Systems–Australia was established in 2000 to support the growing fleets
of GDLS products in the region. In Australia, the Army operates a fleet of 257 LAV II 8x8 ASLAV
Armoured Fighting Vehicles and a fleet of 57 M1A1 Main Battle Tanks. In New Zealand, the Army
operates a fleet of 105 LAV III 8X8 NZLAV Light Armoured Vehicles.
http://www.gdlsaustralia.com

The recent appointment of Telstra CEO Andy
Penn as an Honorary Fellow of Australian Institute
of Project Management, Chief Project Officer
Alicia Aitken’s appointment to the ICCPM Board,
and now this partnership, demonstrate Telstra’s
thought leadership in project management and in
particular, complex projects.”
Telstra Executive Director, David Boyes said the
partnership between Telstra and ICCPM showed
Telstra’s commitment to delivering complex
projects for its customers, using contemporary
project management practices.
On 1 January 2016, the International Centre for
Complex Project Management (ICCPM) joined
with telecommunications provider, Telstra in a
partnership that will see them work together to
optimise the delivery of complex projects and
increase capabilities and knowledge sharing across
the profession.

“We look forward to be deepening our relationship
with the Australian Defence Industry and forging
new ties with other organisations working on
complex projects.”

Telstra is Australia’s leading
telecommunications company, with an
international presence spanning 20 countries,
including a growing footprint in Asia.

“It is exciting to welcome Telstra to our growing
network, although not the first non-defence
organisation to be part of ICCPM, Telstra is the first
telco and technology based company to join.

https://www.telstra.com.au

ICCPM is a professional organisation (network) that welcomes partners and members who have an interest in working
toward better outcomes for society in the delivery of complex projects and programs. These outcomes can be linked to
increased productivity, reduced failure (personally, professionally and organisationally), better budget outcomes, and
most importantly increased levels of capability. Individuals and companies belong to ICCPM in order to access the
nnnngglatest education and academic advancements, networking across organisations to share ggg
lessons and knowledge, and
building a cohort that together can address some of the most complex projects in history. Belonging to the ICCPM
network encourages individual members and corporations to engage in continuing professional development to
increase their capability to manage complex projects.
For further information, please contact ICCPM on admin@iccpm.com or 02 6120 5110.

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ICCPM CONNECT | 7

NEWS

ICCPM Sponsors UTS Project
Management Student Prize
ICCPM is pleased to join with the University
of Technology Sydney in awarding a prize that
will recognise academic excellence in project
management.
The prize will be presented annually to the student
of the Master of Project Management course who
achieves the highest grade in the Managing Project
Complexity subject. This is a five year agreement
and demonstrates a long term commitment to the
relationship between UTS and ICCPM and to further
education in the project management space.
ICCPM MD/CEO Deborah Hein said, “Academic
excellence in Managing Project Complexity is the
most appropriate subject for ICCPM to sponsor
in any program, we have been a very long term
supporter of all education in the complex project
space.
I am hopeful that by encouraging and recognising
graduates with such a prize we might inspire the
graduates to work to become some of the best
practitioners in the world.
I am hopeful that one day we may see one of these
graduates managing something like the Joint
Strike Fighter, Future Submarines, High Speed
Rail or other projects of national significance, and
potentially become a Fellow of ICCPM”.

Dr Chivonne Algeo, Course Director of the Master
of Project Management program at UTS said,
“A robust relationship between industry and the
courses student’s study is invaluable for achieving
mutually beneficial outcomes. The ICCPM have
recognised the value of rewarding exceptional
performance in the area of project complexity by
supporting a student who has mastered this area
of study. The opportunity for students to connect
with professional associations like the ICCPM is
beneficial to all responsible for delivering project
outcomes in an increasingly complex and dynamic
world”.
The post-graduate project management degrees
offered at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
are internationally recognised and certified degrees
providing a pathway into specialised project
management roles, or advancement to project and
program director positions.
Students have the unique opportunity to develop
a specialised skill set by choosing a sub-major
in business, construction, engineering, IT, local
government management, or health. This approach
provides students with the opportunity to combine
project management disciplines with sector-focused
knowledge. The course incorporates UTS’s block
teaching approach, which creates an immersive
environment where students work with their peers
in a team-based, simulated project environment.

For further information,
http://www.uts.edu.au/future-students/finda-course/courses/c04006

8 | ICCPM CONNECT

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

NEWS

ICCPM Appoints Tim Cummins to
its Board
Complexity Diagnostic

The ICCPM Board of Directors has appointed CEO of the International
Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM)
Mr Tim Cummins to a non-executive Director position for an initial
period. Tim will hold office until the next Annual General meeting
where he will be eligible for re-election.
ICCPM MD/CEO Deborah Hein said, “It is fantastic that Tim has
agreed to become a member of our board. Tim brings an increased
level of diversity to our board that not only shows our board’s
commitment to continual growth and improvement, Tim also fills
a gap in expertise in the legal/commercial/contracting knowledge
area. ICCPM and IACCM have been building a strong and supportive
relationship for quite number of years”.
Tim Cummins said, “I have great respect for the work undertaken by ICCPM and believe that increased
cooperation and knowledge-sharing between the project management profession and commercial staff
is critical to their mutual success. The costs associated with a failure to work effectively together are
simply too high – for business and for society.”
The ICCPM Board of Directors is made up of a Chair, Deputy Chair, MD/CEO and up to six Non-Executive
Directors and is ultimately responsible for the strategic direction of the organisation.

Tim Cummins is Chief Executive Officer of the International Association for Contract and Commercial
Management (IACCM), where he works with leading corporations, public and academic bodies, supporting
executive awareness and understanding of the role that procurement, contracting and relationship
management increasingly play in 21st century business performance and public policy.
Prior to IACCM, Tim’s business career included executive roles at IBM and a period on the Chairman’s
staff, leading studies on the impacts of globalization and the re-engineering of IBM’s global contracting
processes. His earlier career involved the banking, automotive and aerospace industries, initially in
Corporate Finance and later in commercial and business development. He led negotiations up to $1.5
billion in value and his work has taken him to over 40 countries.

For further information contact ICCPM on
admin@iccpm.com or +61 2 6120 5110

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

nnnnggggg

ICCPM CONNECT | 9

EDUCATION

ICCPM Becomes a Registered
Training Organisation
(RTO No. 41394)
ICCPM has received a seven year national
registration from the Australian Skills Quality
Authority (ASQA) as an NVR Registered Training
Organisation (RTO) in accordance with the
provisions of the National Vocational Education
and Training Regulator Act 2011.
Mrs Deborah Hein, ICCPM CEO said, “The successful
result from the comprehensive initial registration
audit was welcome news and comes at a time
when the sector is experiencing unprecedented
demand for quality training programs and skilled
employees.
Achieving and maintaining an RTO status needs
a significant and ongoing commitment and it is
a team effort to ensure ongoing compliance with
the VET Quality Framework and other stringent
conditions of registration. Being granted the
seven year registration timeframe is not only a
vote of confidence from the national regulator of
Australia’s vocational education and training sector,
but reflects the ongoing hard-work of staff.
All of our trainers are highly qualified industry
experts and educators in complexity, teach industry
best practice and build capacity, capability and
sustainability across organisations that are required
to deliver complex projects and programmes.”

ICCPM’s scope of registration is listed on
the National Register at training.gov.au
For further information,
please contact ICCPM on
admin@iccpm.com or +2 6120 5110

RTO NO: 41394

10 | ICCPM CONNECT

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

EDUCATION

BREAKING NEWS -

Certificate IV in Responding to
Organisational Complexity course
available in Australia
ICCPM are very proud to announce that we are
the course owner of: 10195NAT - Certificate IV in
Responding to Organisational Complexity.
Using the latest in scientific research and practitioner
application our course shows students how an
understanding of complexity can enable them to
work more effectively, especially in situations of
increasing uncertainty and instability.
We have applied to ASQA to have the Certificate
IV course placed on our scope of registration and
anticipate that we will be delivering this course
by the end of this financial year. Contact us if you
would like to know more or wish to be placed on
the waiting list for the first public course delivery.

10195NAT Certificate IV in Responding to
Organisatinal Complexity
is endorsed by the
Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)
and is a nationally recognised qualification

Learning outcomes:
• work with managers and team members as
appropriate to deal with situations where
complexity is present across a range of
organisational contexts
• provide guidance to managers and teams as to
the tools, methods and approaches that may be
used to deal with complex situations present in
organisations
• take responsibility for own role as appropriate
in applying complexity theories, approaches
and systems concepts to allocated tasks
• manage self and supervise others in the efficient
use of complexity management techniques at
an organisational or operational level
• facilitate effective problem-solving techniques
for effective risk management and decision
making in complex environments
• demonstrate effective leadership required in
environments where complexity is present
• facilitate an environment orientated to high
performance in the workplace

registered under the
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

Course graduates will demonstrate autonomy and
judgement (within the limitations of their job role),
underpinned by sound theoretical knowledge of
complexity theories, frameworks and tools. They
will demonstrate a broad range of skills in applying
their specialist knowledge in environments that are
complex and dynamic.

Participants will be introduced to the concepts
of systems thinking to manage complex projects.
The course will benefit senior and aspiring
project managers, key project management staff,
commercial managers, supply chain managers,
portfolio managers and key advisors independent
of sector or program type.

What does the course cover?
This course provides a conceptual bridge, extending
traditional analytical tools of senior members into
the field of managing complex projects. The course
uses real-world examples of applying organisational
and holistic systems approaches, so that viable
project systems can be designed and managed,
and emerging problems can be solved. The course
also considers working with diverse and competing
shareholder views and needs as well as stakeholder
needs, and project delivery architecture.

• make sense of complex problems using soft
systems methodology

• use the ‘Viable System Model’
• apply new approaches to working on complex
projects and programs.

Essential Information
Duration:

3 days

Cost:

$2,722.50 includes GST per person
if you register and pay by 3 May

(Discounts are available for group
bookings and ICCPM members)

Date:

17 - 19 May 2016

Venue:
QUT Gardens Point Campus,
Brisbane

How participants will benefit.
Participants have significant opportunities to
consider the transfer of their new knowledge to
their own projects and feedback received shows
that the transfer of learning to the workplace is
immediate and powerful.

The QUT Graduate School of Business specialises in real-world
education programs designed to transform individuals and ignite
organisational performance in complex business environments.
This is achieved through a focus on the development of enhanced
leadership and multidisciplinary decision-making skills.
QUT Business Connect is your gateway to QUTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thoughtleadership in education and research in the real worlds of business
and government.
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

Effective Change Management
Capability Building
By David Miller and Audra Proctor
David Miller is the CEO and Founder of Changefirst. David has helped organisations successfully
implement major change for over 30 years, as a senior executive in a global company and subsequently
through his work with Changefirst. David’s first book Successful Change is a culmination of working
with major clients and includes practical anecdotes and examples that illustrate how you can successfully
implement change.
Audra Proctor is a Board Member and Director of Research & Development at Changefirst. For the last 20
years Audra has been helping global organisations to develop capabilities and improve their productivity
to execute business critical change initiatives. It’s her strong belief that change is far more sustainable
when critical skills, processes and tools are transferred inside an organisation, to people who then control
and deliver their own changes.
The volume and complexity of change that
organizations are facing continues to increase,
and they cannot risk the negative impacts of not
executing their business critical changes. Whether
focused on cost reduction, process redesign,
mergers, restructuring or a large IT implementation,
it can be difficult for organizations to capture the
full value from their change activities.
A 2008 IBM survey “Making Change Work”
identified an average 22% gap between the
amount of substantial change an organization
expected and an organization’s success at actually
changing. There may be a number of causes of
this gap; it could be that these organizations are
pursuing inappropriate strategies, or it could
be that they are in rapid decline and unable to
muster sufficient resources. It could even be that
they simply lack the process efficiencies which can
drive real business change. However, we would
conclude that the core reason for organizations
failing to execute, and realise benefits from, their
strategies is the difficulty getting employees to
embrace the change each new initiative.
This is the realm of change management – helping
people adopt new behaviours, accept and take
ownership of change, instead of resisting it.

14 | ICCPM CONNECT

Successful project implementations rarely come
from purely technical project plans that do not take
into account these human dynamics of change.
The qualitative impacts of poorly managed change
can be seen and felt by many and effective change
management is known to increase the likelihood
of achieving project objectives and return on
investment (ROI). The issue is how best to make
change management happen in your organization.

“This is the realm of change management –
helping people adopt new behaviours,
accept and take ownership of change,
instead of resisting it. ”
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ARTICLES

Key Questions
1. Should you rely on external consultants and
interim managers, or should you seek to build
internal capability?
2. Should you build capability focused on
supporting a specific project delivery, or the
specific needs of different roles in change?
3. How does an organization remain agile to
survive and thrive in today’s competitive
climate?
In this chapter we explore how organizations can
“make change their business “, with a change
capability up, down and across the organization,
which is commensurate with the volume, magnitude
and pace of change the organization faces. We
introduce our Change Maturity Model (C3M) as
a way to measure the size of the gap between
current capability levels and what is required for
success. We consider how quickly that gap can be
closed to support successful change delivery, and
the best ways to ensure that this investment yields
sustainable results.

Agility is critical in today’s environment
Nearly 90% of UK executives surveyed by the
Economist Intelligence Unit, in the 2009 report
Organizational agility: How business can survive
and thrive in turbulent times, ranked organizational
agility as vital for business success. The same
report also highlights the research conducted at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which
suggested that agile firms grow revenue 37% faster
and generate 30% higher profits than non-agile
companies. Organizations that lack agility and
can’t adapt to change, can suffer more than ever
before from:
• more adaptable competitors dominating the
market
• business performance deteriorating rapidly
– and when deterioration occurs recovery is
tougher than ever before
• the engagement of employees becoming more
difficult

Organizational life - cycles

So, how can organizations become agile, able
to deliver change at the volume, speed and
accuracy required? In a recent survey of over 50
organizations, we asked more than 2,000 change
leaders what they believed was the most effective
way to help their organization implement change
in the current environment. The vast majority –
86% - said that internal teams were the best way to
implement change.
Earlier supporting data published in a McKinsey
Quarterly article [Helping employees embrace
change, LaClair and Rao, November 2002]
demonstrated a direct linear relationship between
an organization’s change management capabilities
and the value it captures from projects. They
found that the organizations with high levels of
available internal change management capabilities
had collected, on average, 143% of the value they
originally expected from their projects.
It is against this backdrop that Changefirst believe
that organizations should be re-assessing their
reliance on external consultancies and interims to
drive major business change. Further, we believe
that if an organization is to become agile; able to
transform effectively through the Organizational
Life-Cycles (see Figure 2.1) rather than go into
decline, and able to deliver change at the volume,
speed and accuracy required; it needs more than a
small number of project or OD specialists trained
in change management.

• the term ‘change fatigue’ becoming part of
regular conversations inside the organization
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ICCPM CONNECT | 15

ARTICLES

Rather it takes the building of change management
capabilities across the entire organization, ensuring
that key processes are effectively applies on all
projects and business critical changes. It is this
enterprise-wide perspective of capability building
that is the bedrock of organizational agility and is
called Enterprise Change Management (or ECM for
short).

Enterprise Change Management (ECM)
ECM is the term used to describe the discipline
and process of deploying change management up,
down and across an organization; ensuring it can
be applied to each project, and individuals have
access to requisite skills to build their own personal
change competency.
It comprises:
• A common change language that is used
throughout the organization
• A shared set of change processes and tools
that can be applied to different projects and in
different parts of the organization
• Strong change leadership competency at all
levels of the organization

Key Benefits
In our experience, taking an ECM approach to
change management ensures:
• time is not wasted “re-inventing the wheel” for
each new project
• continuous improvement of the approach, as
well as the tools and training that support the
approach
• consistent application on all major projects
• senior leaders are managing the overall change
capability

The Change Management Maturity Model
(C3M)
The successful introduction of ECM requires a level
of change management maturity, which required a
significant investment of time and effort for many
organizations. Changefirst developed a Change
Management Maturity Model, with four levels as
shown Table 2.2, to help an organization:
-

assess their current maturity level

• Role-based training and coaching to build and
embed new skills and techniques.

- determine the gap towards being able to support
ECM

• An organizational mind-set that supports the
effective implementation of strategic change*

- build a development roadmap for a more agile
organization

* Note: this would include, but is not limited to
change capacity being assessed before projects
are initiated, executives proactively managing the
portfolio of change and a change management
scorecard being established and reviewed.

Each of the Change Management Maturity levels
has its own standards which must be achieved to
master that stage of maturity.

Level

Stage

Description

4

Enterprise

Executive sponsors manage the overall change capacity of the organization.

3

Organisational

Change management has been tailored to align to other organizational
processes. It is applied consistently on all major projects.

Change is seen as a technical process where people will comply with the
requirements of the change.

Table: Change Managment Maturity Levels

16 | ICCPM CONNECT

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ARTICLES

Rudimentary Level
At this level, there is a strong focus on the technical
aspects of projects.
Project implementation
contains little or no change management beyond
basic communications and training. Resistance is
the normal outcome at this level and usually is seen
as ‘anti-organization’. Employee engagement
is seen as putting forward a rational case for
change, and compliance is viewed as successful
implementation of a change. The bottom line is
that workplace productivity drops more than it
should during change.
The key leadership mind-sets observed at this level
are:
• ‘People are rational and will do the right thing.
If they don’t, they have to comply anyway’
• ‘All this change stuff is a bit soft and unnecessary’
• Appropriateness to business situation
This level of maturity only functions if change is
slow and incremental in scope. We would say that
there are no actually no maturity standards worth
noting at this level

Tactical Level
At this level, we observe change management
being applied inconsistently across projects.
Usage is typically a reaction to problems
experienced during projects delivery, such as
employee resistance, rather than built into the
original project plan. Senior sponsors are usually
active in supporting change management as an
idea, but are more inclined to rely on external
change management consultants for more
strategic advice than the tactical support required
to drive and sustain change in local areas. At best,
change management is driven by a “coalition of
the willing” – a small group of enthusiastic early
adopters working on projects.
Key leadership mind-sets at this level are:
• Let’s try to get people’s buy-in, but if not then
we’ll move to compliance’
• ‘Change management is good stuff, but not as
important as a detailed technical plan’
• ‘We’ll do change management if we have the
time and money.’

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

This level of maturity may be a strong fit if there are
a number of significant change initiatives focused
on improving ways of operating – i.e. there will be
notable consequences if the business case in not
achieved. There are some standards at this level,
namely; different change models are available
and there is often a generic change management
education process in place that people can access.
However, this is seldom a ‘needs-based’ or ‘just-intime’ approach.

Organizational Level
This maturity level is characterised by change
management being tailored to align to other
organizational processes, and being applied
consistently on all major projects. The organization
agrees on the need for a single change
management methodology on major projects,
and project delivery communities such as IT, Six
Sigma and HR feel a strong sense of ownership of
the change management methodology. There is
an increase in the number of change management
roles, and just-in-time workshop, rather than
generic training are seen as a way to help people
learn and apply change management skills
and processes to projects. At this level we’ve
observed that external consultants are less used
for change management assignments. Instead
there is likely to be a core group of skilled change
agents in place, plus appropriate training for local
managers, and even employees, to allow them to
play their active part in change.

ICCPM CONNECT | 17

ARTICLES

“Change management is built into the culture - it becomes ‘the way we do things around here’...”

Key leadership mind-sets at this level are:
• ‘We will be successful if we have project plans
with a strong people component.’
• ‘Securing people’s commitment and helping
them to shift their behaviour in support of the
change are essential to success.
This level of maturity is essential for environments
where there is an agenda of change with a strong
vision, sufficient capacity and resources. The level
of complexity is high but not unmanageable
using project planning and change management
methodologies.
There are definite maturity
standards at this level with change management
being integrated into other organizational
processes and change management checkpoints
being measured in the same way as other project
checkpoints. At this level executive sponsorship
and review processes are established, supported
by a change management community of practice
with a clear mandate.

It’s not just about ‘doing change right first time’,
but also about ‘doing the right change’. Executives
spend time assessing the demand for change as
a whole and the level of capacity the organization
possesses. Change management is built into the
culture – it becomes ‘the way we do things around
here’ and change agents build continuous improvements into change management.
The leadership mind-sets observed at this level are:
• ‘Managing change effectively is a core competency in the organization’
• ‘Assessing people’s capacity and limits to
change is a core part of strategic decision-making.’

This level of maturity is essential for organizations
with a transformational agenda. There are a large
number of changes and difficult prioritisation decisions may have to be made. Maturity standards at
this level include change capacity being assessed
before initiating projects, plus a change manageEnterprise level
ment scorecard is established and reviewed at all
project review meetings. Change management is
This maturity level is not just characterised by
included in project and programme charter manchange management being adopted through the
dates and associated skills are seen as an integral
organization, but also be executive sponsors manpart of management development programmes.
aging the overall change capacity of the organization.

18 | ICCPM CONNECT

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ARTICLES

Summary
The volume and complexity of change that organizations are facing continues to increase, and they
cannot risk the negative impacts of not executing
their business critical changes. The qualitative impacts of poorly managed change can be seen and
felt by many and effective change management is
known to increase the change success and benefits
realization. The issue is how best to make change
management happen in your organization, helping
you to remain agile to survive and thrive in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
competitive climate.
In this article we explored how organizational agility to effectively transform our organizations needs
more than a small number of project or OD specialists trained in change management.

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

Rather it requires enterprise-wide change capability building ensuring that key processes can be
effectively applies on all projects and business critical changes, and it is this that we call Enterprise
Change Management.

Excerpted with permission from
Enterprise Change Management:
How to Prepare Your Organization for
Continuous Change,
by David Miller and Audra Proctor
(Kogan Page, April 2016)

ICCPM CONNECT | 19

ARTICLES

Book Review:

Performance Coaching for Complex Projects Influencing behaviour and enabling change
By Mr Tony Llewellyn
Published By Gower Publishing
Review by Mrs Deborah Hein, Managing Director and CEO ICCPM
This book is a must have in any project practitioners
resource library regardless of whether they are
managing or someday aspire to manage complex
projects. It is equally applicable to complicated
projects (in my humble opinion we don’t have
simple projects anymore) where you will find
outcomes will be optimised as a result.
In Chapter 1 Tony mounts a very logical and
compelling case for change in the way we approach
the project management challenges in complex
projects, he does this very well throughout the
whole chapter. He takes the time to provide the
reader with an articulate explanation regarding
what complexity is and how it appears in projects.
Given he is accurately reflecting the world that I
have always intuitively been aware of; it is refreshing
to see that he has not tried to include anything that
is so far removed from reality it is hard to believe
about the world and our projects becoming more
complex.
He has not tried to shock the reader into believing
that complexity is something scary or difficult to
understand, he very simply reinforces the view that
complexity requires a different way of thinking and
behaving and that it can be understood and must
be managed. I particularly agree with the assertion
that a paradigm shift from a transactional to a
transformational mindset is absolutely imperative
and human ingenuity is part of the necessary
response, all wrapped up in the concept of a
‘coaching mindset’ to get you there.

20 | ICCPM CONNECT

“This is a great book to help move
practioners toward becoming
great delivery leaders ”

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ARTICLES

The explanatory chapter that digs deep into the
philosophy of Project Coaching is very well written
and easily understood. Tony makes every effort
to try to use terminology that is tangible (not
ethereal) and is able to be translated into real
world experience.
His short case study stories are well placed,
relevant and once again focussed to connecting
the reader to the application of theory.

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

Practitioners will be pleased that Tony has not just
written an academic piece, he has provided a wellresearched handbook for the practitioner to try
with good detail around the tools and methods
that with practice, perseverance and support will
help professional project managers move toward
successfully managing complex projects. This is
a great book to help move practitioners toward
becoming great delivery leaders.

ICCPM CONNECT | 21

ARTICLES

Why Waste a Good Crisis?
By Karen Cherrill
Kingsfield Consulting, UK
Karen has over 25 years’ experience in the international engineering &
construction industry. After graduating in chemical engineering and obtaining
solid grounding in process design with Foster Wheeler, she gravitated towards
project commercial and risk management. Karen worked with large Owner,
PMC and EPC contractor organisations, directly managing teams delivering
complex international projects in the oil and gas, petrochemical, power,
industrial and utilities sectors. She is now a Director of Kingsfield Consulting,
contributing technical leadership across the project life cycle, ranging from
pre-contract risk strategies, delivery phase commercial management and
avoiding contract disputes. She has gained a deep understanding of why
projects fail to meet their objectives and proactively helps her clients avoid these pitfalls. Karen’s current
interests are immersing herself in the fascinating world of complexity science, and finding ways to apply
this pragmatically in the delivery of complex construction projects around the world.
I’ve just returned from a week’s business trip to
the Middle East, listening to our clients who are
contractors designing and building large industrial
plants in the region and beyond. They were very
different conversations from the ones I was having
even two years ago. Then the market was still
booming, the oil price was over $100 per barrel,
commodity prices were holding their own and the
region’s capital spend was enormous. Contractors
had huge backlogs of work, there were enough
projects to go round and everyone was hiring.
Today’s oil price is less than $40 per barrel and
it would be a brave forecaster who would be
prepared to state with any confidence that this
will rise to $100 levels in the medium term. The
spend on capital projects, especially to support
the region’s growing infrastructure and power
needs, is still massive by European standards; in
Qatar alone there are $282bn worth of projects
underway or planned in 2016. But that ebullience
has disappeared, contractors are cutting back in
overheads and staff, owners are trying to work
with budgets set at a time when their expected
revenues were much higher, many projects are in
distress or dispute as the parties get entrenched
in trying to deliver results to their stakeholders – a
very different picture.
22 | ICCPM CONNECT

At a recent conference, Thierry Pilenko, CEO of
the global contractor Technip, stated that this
was the worst crisis that the industry has faced for
a generation and that everyone knew what they
must do – drive down the costs, and not by 5 or
10% but by 30 or 40%! His suggestions were about
creating a climate of creativity and innovation,
letting go of old ways and standards, engaging in
early collaboration from the supply chain, limiting
the number of interfaces, but mostly importantly
changing the behaviours of the people from
the top to the coal face, likening this to the step
change that Technip has made in safety. The
sceptics amongst us, and those who have been
around this loop many times before, may smile
at the rhetoric but he is not the only voice calling
the industry to action. A report by Morgan Stanley
and BCG (1) last year concluded that “Big Oil still
lacks a truly cost-conscious culture”, referring to
the need of the world’s largest oil companies to
change their business model. A change of mindset
was a recurring theme amongst senior executives
during my trip last week who cannot sustain getting
squeezed for that extra few percent, as that is all
that is left without radical change.

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ARTICLES

Qatargas - the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) company

“Never let a good crisis go to waste.”
Winston Churchill

At Kingsfield, we’re in the project business and
full of admiration for the amazing and innovative
industrial plants that our contractor clients build all
over the world. We help these contractors think
about, plan, deliver and make a profit on complex
projects often in places where they haven’t worked
before, maybe using first of a kind technology,
often in multi-cultural joint ventures and from many
execution centres in different time zones. These
are private rather than public projects; they don’t
have the luxurious timescales or seemingly elastic
budgets which can pervade the public sector.
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

They are driven by the needs of stakeholders who
expect rapid returns on their investment – and
are often expected to be delivered at break-neck
speed once the funds are sanctioned. In a fast track
megaproject, there’s no time to allow for patterns
to emerge, no time for ‘sense and respond’ type
strategies, and no time to step out to reflect and
adapt. In fact they seem specifically designed to
ignore the characteristics of complex systems.
But for me the real challenge is that any project team
is only ever temporary; although its sole purpose is
to deliver only one project, a supply chain of 1000s
of vendors and subcontractors is not uncommon.
After that everyone disbands and moves onto
the next one. And the ‘team’ is usually made up
of individuals from different companies, countries,
and environments; who have different motivations
and drivers. The excellent research done by
ICCPM in their Research Paper RP3 (2) shows that
the success factors for complex projects are tied to
relationship management and collaboration.
ICCPM CONNECT | 23

ARTICLES

“So where are we?
The industry is in crisis. Significant cost
savings need to be found by changing
behaviours and a more equitable
distribution of risks. Even now 65% of all
megaprojects are failing.”

KC-PHO-008 Distillation Tower
When we try to draw a relational map with our
project managers of all the parties involved
and their relationships, a massive network of
interconnectedness slaps you in the face – how am
I supposed to ‘manage’ all of this?!
So where are we? The industry is in crisis. Significant
cost savings need to be found by changing
behaviours and a more equitable distribution
of risks. Even now 65% of all megaprojects are
failing (3). The supply chain cannot continue to be
squeezed; parties need to make a reasonable profit
and stay in business. The industry is calling for this
step change; but it can only be achieved by acting
on the growing research and experience about
why complex projects fail and what we need to do
differently.
Whilst readers of this journal may be familiar with
complex adaptive systems and the significant body
of research that surrounds them, as a practitioner I
would have to say that the application of ideas of
self-organisation, interrelatedness, adaptiveness
and emergence seem a long way from the frantic and
stressful environment of a typical megaproject. But
I strongly believe that the pragmatic extrapolation
of these concepts into reality will provide part of the
solution to the radical change in behaviours that are
being called for.

mass engagement, using trending techniques and
early warning flags to help respond with agility,
facilitating scenario or ‘what if’ planning, and
creating workshops for reflection – to name a few.
I can hear contractors shouting at me – it’s the
owners that need to lead this charge, not us!
We’re not at the top of the food chain! Yes, we
can wait for and welcome enlightened owners and
operators to be brave and invite us into their world.
But if this doesn’t happen any time soon, and we’d
like to keep our businesses profitable, we can also
lead by example and enact some smart practices
that may help us all to make this step change.

At Kingsfield, we are challenging the conventional
notions of ‘command and control’ style leadership,
using techniques like Future Search to create

24 | ICCPM CONNECT

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ARTICLES

Do you have something to say about complexity,
projects, programs, people, or research?
If you would like to be included in future editions of CONNECT,
contact us with your suggestions and abstracts.
CONNECT is published quarterly in March, June, September and December.
Deadline for submissions is the 1st of each publishing month.
admin@iccpm.com

If you would like to sign up to receive future editions of CONNECT,
please visit iccpm.com

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ICCPM CONNECT | 25

ARTICLES

Building High-Performance
Project Talent for Complex
Environments
Through a focus on talent, culture and process, the Canadian Department of National Defence’s Project
Manager competency Development Framework helps drive successful outcomes. The following article is
an excerpt from a PMI whitepaper, Building High-Perforamance Project Talenet - A Transforamtional
Initiative
In an effort to develop strong, effective project
managers working in an increasingly complex
environmement, the Canadian Department of
National Defence (DND) has implemented a
comprehensive and robust program that aims to
effectively develop and formally qualify all project
managers to position the organization for ongoing
project management success.

Ian Mack, Director General, Major Project Delivery,
The team drew from a number of global experts Sea (Chief of Staff of the Materiel Group) laid the
including the Australian Defence Force for ground work for the PCMD said that he was inspired
guidance and support.
after hearing a lecture by an Australian official
discussing his organisation’s project management
The DND’s Project Manager Competency competency standard.
Development (PMCD) framework was developed
by a small, forward-thinking group of individuals “I realized that the Australians were light years
within the department. They recognized the need ahead of us in terms of establishing a competency
to develop DND’s project management talent as set of profiles to be used to develop and qualify
well as more effectively match project managers’ project managers against a project complexity
competencies with the level of project complexity. assessment system,” said Director General Mack.
By pursuing a similar path, DND could train and
The process was given heightened impetus when assign more experienced project managers to more
the Treasury Board Secretariat introduced a complex projects and newer project managers to
Project Complexity and Risk Assessment (PCRA) smaller, less complex projects so they could gain
model. This new management policy described a more experience.
comprehensive new system for rating government
projects. The basic idea of the PCRA was that Building high performance, competent project
projects would be evaluated throughout their life talent requires a process that ensures employees
cycle and assigned a score based on the type have the technical skills they need for effective
of project; its complexity and cost; technology project management, as well as leadership, and
required; number of people involved; procurement strategic and business acumen required to get the
issues; and a series of other critical factors.
job done.

26 | ICCPM CONNECT

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ARTICLES

In grooming the next generation of project
managers, DND recognized the imperative of
equipping its people to excel within a shifting
paradigm. While the original project management
triple constraint is marked by time, cost and scope,
DND’s framework focuses on a talent triangle of
skills that include:
• Technical (project management)
• Leadership (behavioral)
• Contextual (government/DND knowledge)
The world has ceased to be linear from a project
management point of view,” said Mr. Mack.
Tangible technical skills – as well as intangible
leadership skills – are now equally important in
ensuring project success.
This is due in part to the explosion in unforeseeable
risks that characterize the interconnectedness
of the global marketplace, combined with the
critical horizontal integration needed within the
government of Canada to manage complex
endeavors.’

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

Through its efforts, the DND has made an
investment to ensure that project management
becomes a core competency that drives successful
project outcomes. The PMCD framework’s
ability to align project manager competencies
with project complexities will continue to play a
critical role in meeting the strategic objectives
of the Federal Government’s major equipment
recapitalization program for the Canadian Armed
Forces and perhaps become a model of excellence
for successful project management throughout the
entire government.

ICCPM ACADEMIC-IN-RESIDENCE
What are project management academics
ICCPM is currently planning its 2016 International
Roundtable Series during which there will be
opportunities to hear and gauge the concerns
of CPM practitioners. This is a valuable activity,
which informs practice, education, and research. In
order to further the necessary dialogue between
practitioners and researchers, it is timely to ask what
are the topics of interest to academic researchers.
Short of a comprehensive survey, there is no direct
way to address this question. However, the most
recent list of the 25 most read papers by academics
interested in project management offers an
indication . I readily acknowledge that the list is
concerned with project management in general,
not just complex projects, but it still provides a
valuable overview.
The most popular theme –unsurprisingly- is project
success, how to define it, and what are the factors
that influence success (16 of the top 25 articles). The
list reveals a healthy approach towards defining
success beyond the traditional ‘iron triangle’ of
cost, schedule and quality and the articles cover a
broader horizon, including benefits realization and
stakeholder engagement.

The second most popular theme is concerned
with project management tools and methods (12
articles) . Here, the approach is more traditional
and articles present the benefits of using a range of
tools, methods and practices that are argued to be
beneficial to practitioners.
The presence of papers arguing for the need to
transition practices to reflect current concerns
(e.g. change management and the ability to
evolve projects over the lifecycle) demonstrates
an awareness of the challenges experienced by
practitioners.
Leadership and risk management (5 articles each)
are in a tie for the third most popular theme. The
majority of the articles here explore how leadership
style or risk management assist project success,
usually by identifying how to adjust to project type.
However, some recent articles offer more innovative
ideas on transformational leadership, and the
management of risk and uncertainty.

28 | ICCPM CONNECT

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ACADEMIC IN
RESIDENCE
Complexity Diagnostic

reading about? And why does it matter?
The two other themes in the top 25 are governance
and stakeholders (3 articles each). Project
governance is emerging as a major topic for
practitioners and academics and this is a welcome
development.
Although complexity or complex project
management are not explicitly mentioned in the
top 25, some of the issues of concern to CPM
practitioners are reflected in the articles: measuring
success beyond the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;iron triangleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, insights about
project leadership and change management, risk
and uncertainty, and governance. At the same
time, the analysis of the list also reveals some
gaps: contracting and supply chain collaboration
are absent, issues of culture, communication,
gender, diversity and sustainability are also not
directly addressed.
In conclusion, this highlights the opportunity for
a better dialogue between CPM practitioners
and academics in order to create an even more
informed research agenda: this is critical to
shape and innovate our inquiries, standards and
practices.

The list comprises the most popular articles from the
International Journal of Project Management (the top
ranking project management research journal) from
October 2015 to December 2015. It is available at: http://
top25.sciencedirect.com/subject/business-managementand-accounting/4/journal/international-journal-ofproject-management/02637863/archive/67/

The role of ICCPM Academic-in-Residence is to act as the
single point of contact for academics worldwide wishing
to engage with ICCPM on research. Prof Tywoniak
will have a significant role in fostering collaborative
relationships with the academic community, and provide
updates on progress and issues to ICCPM Partners and
members on a regular basis.

1

The count exceeds 25 as some articles address more than
one theme
2

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

The ICCPM Academic-in-Residence
can be contacted via email at
academic@iccpm.com
nnnnggggg

ICCPM CONNECT | 29

ICCPM
NETWORK

ICCPM BOARD PROFILE
Julie Dunlap - Director
Julie Dunlap is Co-founder and Managing Director of CPMC Corporation,
a business dedicated to advancing the practice of complex program
management. Her passion for program management is a direct result of being
responsible for numerous Mission Critical programs.
Her goal is to develop an organization that combines experience with education,
resulting in not only the successful delivery of the defined program, but also
the increased understanding on both the client and delivery side of the key
elements needed for a successful project.
Ms. Dunlapâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interest in program management was cultivated during her 30-year career with Lockheed
Martin Information Systems and Global solutions (LM IS&GS). She led several large programs that
had a direct impact on how critical information was gathered and used by the US, UK, Canadian and
Australian government agencies. While all of the programs were delivered successfully, they all faced
challenges. Solving those challenges helped shape and refine her key philosophy for how to make a
program successful: Develop a strong partnership within your team and with your client. There will always
be challenges, but a collective approach to solving them will ensure the best outcome. Combined with a
strong commitment to PM fundamentals, this philosophy has enabled not only the successful delivery of
programs, but the establishment of ongoing partnerships.
Previous to starting CPMC, Ms. Dunlap was the Vice President for LM IS&GS South East Asia, Ms. Dunlap
developed a strategy for growth and execution that resulted in significant growth in the LM resource base
as well as established partnerships with key government agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. This role, combined with previous
leadership roles in the US, UK and Canada, have provided her with an international view of program
delivery and an appreciation for the program complexities that exist regardless of location. ICCPM
provides the perfect forum for advancing a global focus on program management that will increase the
skill level and knowledge base required for successful program delivery.

The ICCPM Fellows Program recognises individual excellence in managing complex projects.
ICCPM Fellows are recognised as highly credible and successful Program Managers with a proven track
record in the field of Complexity in Project Management. They are opinion leaders in the field of managing
complex projects across all sectors and have extensive networks of influential thinkers.
Fellows are identified by their peers as a professional program manager who is held in the highest regard
in the project management community. Their personal involvement in some of the most complex projects
and programs in the world provides demonstrable evidence of meeting all the criteria to be invited to
become a Fellow of ICCPM. Fellows can only be nominated by existing Fellows or ICCPM Directors and
are assessed by the ICCPM Board as being suitable or otherwise.
More information is available on the ICCPM website and we will profile individual Fellows in future
editions of the CONNECT Magazine.

30 | ICCPM CONNECT

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ICCPM
NETWORK

ICCPM FELLOW PROFILE
Raydon Gates AO, CSM (Australia)
Raydon Gates is Chief Executive for Lockheed Martin Australia & New Zealand.
Mr. Gates was appointed to his current position in March 2011. In this capacity,
he is responsible for leading and growing Lockheed Martin’s business in Australia
and New Zealand.
Previously, Mr. Gates was the CEO of the Kokoda Foundation and a private
consultant working in the Defence Industry and National Security areas. He
also had mentoring/coaching roles in Leadership and Strategic studies at the
Australian Defence College.
Prior to this he served in the Royal Australian Navy for 37 years retiring in 2008 as a Rear Admiral. A seaman
officer, his sea service culminated with the command of two guided missile frigates. His flag officer (2 star)
appointments include the inaugural Commander of the Australian Defence College, Maritime Commander
Australia, and Defence Attaché and Head Australian Defence Staff (Washington DC).
His honours and awards include his appointment as an Officer in the Order of Australia, the Conspicuous
Service Medal, the United States’ Legion of Merit and the French Order of Maritime Merit.
Mr. Gates has been awarded a Masters Degree in Business Administration, a Graduate Diploma in Strategic
Studies, and a Diploma of Company Directorship. He is a graduate of a number of strategic leadership
management programs from Mt Eliza (Victoria) Management College, Australian Graduate School of
Management, Oxford University and Harvard University.
Mr. Gates holds a number of pro-bono Director positions: New South Wales Centenary of ANZAC Advisory
Council, University of NSW Canberra Advisory Council and University of South Australia’s Defence and
Systems Institute.
(Source Lockheed Martin)
“I am honoured to be an ICCPM Fellow. While I consider myself experienced in the higher echelons of the
workings of government I am still very much learning the ‘art’ of business. To be recognised as a Fellow
by my peers is very humbling to me; I look forward to contributing to the advancement of ICCPM to the
best of my ability.
To me the sharing of knowledge has always been paramount. This was demonstrated most ably to me
on many a warship bridge as Commanding Officers shared their sea experience with me and imparted
knowledge. That I was able to do something similar when I myself was a Commanding Officer was
simultaneously empowering and an awesome responsibility.
I would like to think that as a Fellow I can again share knowledge and experience to those eager and
keen to learn. Knowledge not of the sea but of leading in complex environments, leading in ambiguity,
appreciating the finer points of policy and strategy, and navigating the nuances of Government and
government departments. All in their own way shoals and hazards that can undo the most competent of
mariners.”

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ICCPM CONNECT | 31

ICCPM
NETWORK

AROUND THE NETWORK
Traci-Ann Byrnes is responsible for the Australian Military Sales Office within
the Department of Defence in Australia, leading the disposal of major
platforms and facilitating industry exports.
Traci-Ann has had over 20 years experience in Defence in varying roles, dealing
with complex issues and wide ranging stakeholders. Traci-Ann believes that flexible
work practices and continuous personal development are essential to any career
and holds a Master of Business (Complex Project Management) along with post
graduate qualifications in Public Policy, Management and Strategic Procurement.
Since joining the Department of Defence in 1994 as a graduate, Traci-Ann has held business finance
management positions in Major Capital Equipment projects procuring night vision equipment, major
ships, and aircraft upgrades. Traci-Ann had the opportunity to spend 18 months on exchange with the
USA Department of Defense, focusing on project performance management and subsequently lead the
reform of policy and practice associated with earned value management in Australia. Traci has been
involved in a number of reform projects including the introduction of the Financial Controls Framework,
the Accelerated Disposals Program and Smart Sustainment. She led the remediation of audit findings
against $44billion of military assets on the Defence balance sheet and implemented a shared services
model for materiel finance including the implementation of a service culture and professionalisation
programme.
Traci-Ann is driven to improve inclusion in the workplace. She has worked to create a diverse workforce,
mentoring staff and high school girls from vulnerable communities, as well as helping to further Defence’s
women’s network and supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives. This work supported her nomination
by Defence for the Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards in 2015.

BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
• Member events

• Monthly Member Bulletin

• Access to the Digital Gateway

• Early notification of ICCPM events

• Networking opportunities

• Discounts on ICCPM courses and events

• Access to the online Member Forum to
interact with other members
• Gower 25% discount on specialist
business and managment books and
resources

• Access to research, communications and
information reserved for ICCPM members
• Opportunity to contribute to the ICCPM
eBook series
• Access to free books (in exchange for a
book review)

• Opportunity to contribute to ICCPM
sponsored research

We will be profiling members of the ICCPM network in this space; if you would like to appear or suggest someone for a profile
in a future edition please get in touch.

32 | ICCPM CONNECT

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ICCPM
NETWORK

AROUND THE NETWORK
Hayden Kozlow is an experienced urban planner and project manager with a
career spanning 16 years in planning, property and the infrastructure industry
beginning with local government in Melbourne, Regional/State Government
in the ACT and now Commonwealth Government with the Department of
Defence.
Initially starting his career in freight forwarding, warehousing and logistics on the
Melbourne Waterfront, Hayden decided to change careers, went back to University
in his mid-20’s and started working for Frankston City Council in Statutory Planning
at the age of 28.
Although primarily working in urban planning roles, he has found that his skills can be related to property
management and infrastructure construction projects. Hayden worked in Statutory and Strategic Planning
roles with ACT Government as well as Property Policy and Tenancy Management of Government Owned
buildings during a tough period when the ACT Government announced their school closures. Hayden was
a part of ACT Government Recovery Taskforce for the 2003 Canberra Firestorm as part of the demolition
team. It was challenging but ultimately rewarding to see that you can actually make a difference in your job.
Currently, Hayden is Project Director of the facilities component of Project AIR5428 – Pilot Training System
that involves replacement of the Pilatus PC-9 Aircraft and related training and working facilities over 5
sites and 4 states in Australia. He has only been in his current role for 7 months and every day he’s learning
something new. Hayden was in a previous role in Estate Planning Branch with Defence for over 5 years.
His Deputy Secretary came to speak as part of a leadership course Hayden attended and stated that
‘life begins on the edge of your comfort zone’. This prompted Hayden to change roles and begin a new
challenge with CFI Branch.
In addition to his Bachelor’s degree in Arts (Urban and Regional Planning), Hayden has a Diploma in
Government Management, Master’s subject qualifications from the University of Melbourne in Contract
Management of Public Private Partnerships and Certificate IV in Government Procurement. Hayden has
enrolled in a Diploma of Project Management to be completed this year and recently completed the
Introduction of Complexity Course as part of ICCPM’s Complexity Awareness Program.

MEMBERSHIP

Welcome to our new members:
Ricardo Ledo Lopes
Telstra, Australia

Claudius Kleynhans
CK Project Services Pty Ltd, Australia

Tom Fordyce
Boeing Defence Australia

Michelle Bennetts
Airservices Australia

Peter Terwee
Department of Defence, Australia

Adrian Wellspring
Australia

Robert McNeil
BAE Systems, Australia

Michael Washer
Ajeeva Inc, Canada

Matt Florence
Thales, Australia

Toni-Anne Munn
Telstra, Australia

Paul Jeffery
General Dynamics Land Systems, Australia

Tim Cummins
IACCM, USA

Ganesh Muthu
Boeing Defence Australia

Daniel Milford
Defence, Australia

Salman Shabbir
Telstra, Australia

How to join ICCPM
Visit iccpm.com/register and follow the links to register as either an Individual Member (open to everyone) or a Partner
Employee (open to employees of our partners).
If you are a Partner Employee and need your Corporate Code please contact us.
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The Rowing Competition
The boards of two fiercely competitive companies decided to
organise a rowing match to challenge each other’s organisational
abilities. The first company was strongly ‘theory X’: ruthless,
autocratic, zero staff empowerment, etc. The second company
was more ‘theory y’: a culture of developing people, devolved
responsibility and decision-making.
Race day arrived. The Y company’s boat appeared from the boat-house first, with its crew: eight rowers and a
helmsman. Next followed the X company boat and its crew - eight helmsmen and a single rower.
Not surprisingly the Y company’s boat won an easy victory.
The next day the X company board of directors held an inquest with the crew, to review what had been
learned from the embarrassing defeat, which might be of benefit to the organisation as a whole, and any
future re-match.
After a long and wearing meeting the X company board finally came to their decision. They concluded that
the rower should be replaced immediately because clearly he had not listened well enough to the instructions
he’d been given.
(Ack J.J. Lasseur)

Building Good Work
Relationships - Making Work
Enjoyable and Productive
Mind Tools

The Johari Window - using selfDiscovery and Communciation to
Build Trust
Mind Tools
Managing Mutual Acceptance in Your Team Do You welcome the Difference of Others?
Mind Tools

The Modified Borda Count -

Achieving Consensus About
Which Options to Persue
Mind Tools
Avoiding Groupthink Avoiding Fatal FLaws in Group
Decision Making
Mind Tools

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

ICCPM CONNECT | 35

Vacancy

VACANCY:

ICCPM Director of
Education and Research

Are you looking for something new?
Are you altruistic?
Do you want to make a difference?
ICCPM is looking for an executive-level practitioner with 10+ years industry experience and a good
understanding of systems thinking and complexity to join the ICCPM team. We offer the opportunity to
deliver high quality training and to work with industry to contribute to improving the management of complex
projects and programs globally.
You will report to the CEO and your responsibilities will include:
• Leading the development and delivery of nationally recognised accredited
courses, non-accredited courses and workshops;
• Ensuring that ICCPM’s education products and services link to and are
influenced by ICCPM’s research strategy and outcomes;
• Ensuring ICCPM meets all obligations and remains compliant with the
requirements of being a Registered Training Organisation (RTO); and
• Delivering the Research Strategy as agreed by the ICCPM Board.
To be a strong contender, you will be a collaborative leader and facilitator and an exceptional communicator
who is innovative, consultative, resilient and personally accountable for the quality of delivery of results. You
will need to demonstrate extensive industry experience in a relevant field and a background and/or deep
interest in complexity and managing complex projects.
You will be based in Canberra (or willing to relocate), have a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and be
able to travel.
We offer flexible working arrangements and the option of full-time or part-time hours.
This position may suit someone who wishes to undertake part-time post-graduate study.

The position description and application form are available on the iccpm website
Applications close 9am (AEDT) on Thursday 31 March 2016

36 | ICCPM CONNECT

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

PARTNERS

ICCPM also recognises the support
of the following organisations:
AIPM
APM
APM Group
ARPI
CSIRO
DAU
Gower Publishing
University of Hull

Hudson
IACCM
IPMA
MinterEllison
The PM Channel
SEGroup
SKEMA

BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

In the June edition...
• International Roundtable Series
• Academic-in-Residence
• Book Reviews
• Fellows Profile
• Member Profiles
and much more!

Introduction
Successful project outcomes depend on the right forms of contract and supportive contract
management. Too often, those in Project Management and those in Contract / Commercial
Management experience similar challenges yet do not combine their efforts or resources to drive
improvement.
The purpose of the roundtable discussion is to bring the collective wisdom of the participants
together, to focus on the topic, with the principal outcome being a clear definition of further action
required.
The purpose of this discussion paper is to provide a perspective on Contracting for Success in
Complex Projects and to identify key questions that will guide the roundtable discussion.
Research evidence points to the importance of the contract and underlying commercial judgment in
the successful delivery of major projects. The evidence further points to a lack of attention and
investment by many organisations in their embedded contract and commercial capabilities.
This initiative seeks to confirm the issues that currently prevent contract and project alignment, and
to create specific and practical steps that will drive major improvement.
It is well understood that without commercial and contracting functions it is very difficult for a
Project Manager to understand the commercial realities of their projects in totality and that the two
functions have distinctly different accountabilities and responsibilities. Table 1 below provides an
overview of responsibility and accountability.
Project Management

Commercial Management

Jointly Owned

Responsible for

Delivery

Deal making and
commercial risk

Success

Responsible for

Specification

Contract

Integrated Package

Commercial
Responsible for

Technical Compliance
Compliance

Negotiations and
Relationships

Accountable to

Operations

Function

Organisation

Approach is

P3M methodology

Policy, Rules and Legal

Good Business

Approach is

Leadership

Corporate

Teamwork

Approach must be

Communicate

Communicate

Communicate

Page 2

There is a general problem that contract models tend to be based on classical legal theory and a
standard template mentality. The UK's NAO (Sept 2014) concluded that this is 'because senior
management has not taken contract management seriously enough'. In consequence, contracts
have tended to be seen as instruments of administration, control and core asset protection - not
really designed to be of practical use to operational staff or 'users'. In many organisations, there has
been limited thought given to an overall 'contracting process'. The contract simply emerges during a
sales or acquisition lifecycle. Given this lack of attention, there has been little focus on 'fitness for
purpose', or indeed even discussion over what purpose a contract and contracting process should
serve.
'Good contracting' is often undermined by the incentives created by current management and
measurement systems (e.g. profit centres, negotiated savings, revenue-based commissions).
Cooperation, collaboration and strong communication between those preparing and negotiating the
contract and those charged with implementation and delivery is in many cases the exception rather
than the norm, especially within customer / client organisations.
There is very little data capture regarding what goes wrong in the post-award phase and therefore
little root cause analysis of real risks or practical steps to avoid or provide mitigation in future
contracts. Contracts rarely offer 'a framework for business operations', yet this is what is needed.
Their core role in project support should be to provide appropriate guidance and flexibility in
performance management and governance, yet mostly they do not do that, or they do not do it in an
intelligible way; as a result, most project managers see limited purpose in the contract; they see
limited purpose in raising their own contract awareness and skills; and they see the contract as a
possible weapon (theirs and the other side's) to be consigned to a drawer unless or until something
goes badly wrong. Overall, contracts are viewed as a necessary but unfortunate imposition, with
limited relevance to ultimate project success.
A major problem is that there is no real 'owner' of contracts; this is because contracts and projects
are individual and transactional, and it isn't obvious who will actually champion change at a strategic
level. Big projects sometimes succeed due to force of personality and the ability of a powerful
sponsor to cut through organisational norms.
This initiative will produce a practical roadmap of the journey needed to make project success the
norm.

Background
In the ICCPM compendium of working papers that supported the development and release in 2011 of
the ICCPM Task Force Report – Complex Project Management – Global Perspectives and the Strategic
Agenda to 2025, we said in relation to Commercial Management – Striving for a Win/Win
Commercial Outcome:
“The typical corporate response to a crisis frequently drives trading partners apart, rather
than uniting them in seeking mutually beneficial solutions. Many contracts can ‘be governed
efficiently only if the parties adopt a consciously cooperative attitude’. The nature of a
contract – and the time invested in its creation and management – depends on the nature
and economic potential of the relationship but too many contracting and legal professionals

Page 3

do not alter their negotiation priorities to reflect this potential value or the extent to which its
realization depends on cooperation.
As a result, contracts and the professionals charged with their creation are frequently seen as
obstacles to value creation and are viewed by many as an unfortunate pre-requisite to doing
business, rather than as a fundamental asset to successful relationships. Management in
these organizations appreciates the importance of developing ‘commercial competence’, and
ensures appropriate systems and personnel are in place.
The Public Sector challenge is somewhat different from that of the private sector, not least
because of the burden imposed by Public Procurement Rules and in particular the need for
open competition. This tends to create a rules-driven approach that eliminates opportunities
for competitive difference or added-value. Price, rather than quality, becomes the governing
factor; and the approach to risk allocation ensures an adversarial and blame-avoiding
relationship culture.
Much negotiation appears driven by classical legal theory based on transactions rather than
relationships. Classical law assumes self-interest and that economic interest is best served by
looking after one’s own interests. This assumption encourages an attitude that approaches
negotiation deal by deal, rather than seeking or observing patterns or examining the
potential management of risk across relationship portfolios. Therefore, legal provisions lag
behind current thinking and still assume the best way to manage risk is to allocate it to
someone else and mistake dire punishments for failure for incentives to perform.
The tendency for the law to dominate contractual obligations is not the only factor to
undermine the effectiveness of negotiations. Many procurement organizations still believe all
relationships can be reduced to individual commodity transactions and so ignore their
dependency on relationship quality and governance. The lack of truth in tendering is a
significant contributor to poor contractual outcomes. Research has shown that the poor
performance of major projects can be linked in part to issues that were knowable, in that
information existed, but was not disclosed, at the time of tendering and contract formation.
The root causes of what Flyvbjerg termed the “conspiracy of optimism” are not the sole
responsibility of one party alone, nor are they simple to address”
The following recommendations were made in the Task Force Report:







Rec 37 - Develop and adopt frameworks that promote contracting solidarity with
strategic partners.
Rec 38 - Establish systems for capturing and disseminating data derived from the
operation of contracts to inform the development of policy and practice.
Rec 39 – Expand and continue to support CPM Communities of Practice.
Rec 40 – Institute an approach to contract creation/formation with a view to achieving
the long term outcomes sought from the agreement rather than ‘game playing’ to
achieve short term goals.
Rec 41 – Develop and institute relational contracting and risk management
methodologies that recognise the iterative and collaborative nature of risk management.

Further, in 2012 our second roundtable series produced the report - Hitting a Moving Target
- Complex Project and Programme Delivery in an Uncertain World. We made the following
observations (including recommendations) in relation to commercial and contract
management:
Industrial Age socio-politically-derived procurement systems are inappropriate for
a data-driven, ‘information’ age and beyond. The difficulty is that those who have
the power to change those systems are insufficiently informed – while those who are
informed have little power. This is beyond the scope of this report to address,
however, we see a strong indication of the need to seek every opportunity for
conversation and research into new public/private sector procurement ‘operating
systems’ that can facilitate improved project execution and delivery.
One important aspect of this, which demands immediate attention, is the
introduction of ‘evolutionary’ contracting models, reliant upon mutual trust and
providing a framework for success in the face of inevitable uncertainties rather than
emphasising punitive conditions for non-performance. A useful starting point, based
on discussion between ICCPM and the International Association for Contract &
Commercial Management (IACCM) defines the understanding of a contract as in
essence a system to define communication channels and ensure a mutual
understanding between all parties in order to support the relationships on which
successful trade depends. It must therefore:
• Establish consensus and consent between the trading parties
• Ensure clarity and reduce ambiguity regarding their intent
• Allocate roles and responsibilities related to performance
• Agree mechanisms to underpin trust and confidence in working together
• Document processes and principles related to the management of success
or failure the greatest of these is ‘trust’, a principle that is increasingly eroded
in a litigious society.
The phrase ‘Good fences make good neighbours’, from the poem ‘Mending Wall’ by
Robert Frost, is often cited as the principle on which rigorous contractual conditions,
regulation and process compliance are justified. In fact the poem is satire, and
contract conditions are no substitute for trust, regulation no substitute for ethics, and
process no substitute for common sense. The ‘good fence’ in question in the poem
has to be rebuilt every year because it doesn’t stand up to the reality of events, rather
like the abovementioned contracts, regulations and processes!

Page 5

Attention must be paid to the negative effects of massive potential bidding costs in
large projects, where the race may very well be won by the one with the deepest
risk pocket rather than the supplier with the best solution. It may be that some form
of funded bid process, particularly at the Concept and Assessment stages should be
applied, and again, this may be a suitable topic for further collaborative research.
Although it appears that as a collective we have been aware of and have had discussions and debates
around these issues, it is difficult to find where much progress has been made - perhaps it is because
neither the project management nor commercial management professionals see the problem as
theirs individually. Certainly neither has complete visibility and/or carriage of the problem regardless
of who has contributed to it. However when failure is imminent, or has occurred, collectively we all
become responsible and accountable to rectify the situation.

What is Success?
The attached ICCPM Research Project Outcomes Paper found the following:
Whilst there are many success factors associated with complex projects, the following
recurring themes were identified as crucial to project success:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

Clearly defined and shared project goals and vision,
Suitable Relationship/behavioural management,
Prudent risk management and equitable risk allocation,
An acquisition and sustainment strategy suited to the project at hand,
A robust project management and systems engineering framework, and
Leadership and competencies of the team.

Though not exhaustive, these characteristics are most prolific in the complex project
literature as key success factors.
The paper concludes with the statement: The complex project success factors are tied to relationship
management, collaboration, and the principles of fairness and equity. There is nothing new in these
observations. What we have seen though, it the realisation of these principles in novel contract
approaches that eschew the traditional armâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s length approach of risk transfer contracting. Pursuit of
relational contracting approaches though does not mean that project â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hygieneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; factors should be
ignored. Successful projects still require sound project management principles.

Lack of Clarity on scope and goals
Legal/contact team not involved early enough
Failure to engage stakeholders
Protracted negotiations
Negotiations focus on the wrong terms and risks
Contacts lack flexibility, insufficient focus on governance
Contracts difficult to use or understand
Poor handover from deal team to implementation team

Page 6

9. Limited us of contract technology
10. Poor post award processes and governance
These factors have relevance for both the project and commercial management functions and cannot
be attributed to one or the other, thus to address these factors both project and commercial
managers must work hand in hand.

Explore barriers to collaboration (governance, competition law, corporation’s law,
organisational momentum etc.)
Explore opportunities to develop strategies to mitigate or address the barriers to
collaboration
Explore the value proposition of collaborative/relational approaches (how do we sell the
message, how to we craft a business case) – how do we make taking alternative approaches
more acceptable and lower risk
How can we tell if we are mature enough to embark on a relational journey (ISO11000
processes or similar)? A key consideration here is that not all contracts should be relational
contracts. What would the conditions under which relational contracts would be favourable?
How do we measure PM and CM maturity to enable relational or new novel contracting
mechanism? Current tools are not sufficient.
How do we craft acquisition and sustainment strategies to drive positive relationships
between customer and supplier?
How do we ensure strong and productive relationships between PM and CM?
How do we address institutional issues that are critical, for example - If the organization for
which the PM works is does not embrace new approaches, success is difficult to achieve?
What kind of institutional educational piece needs to be developed to embed new thinking
as a result of this work?
Can we develop a PM/CM tool that might help us to identify key event milestones with both
project management and commercial management activities – with joint key event
milestones with success criteria for project/commercial staff to mutually achieve at each
these key event milestones?
Will ICCPMs Complexity Diagnostic Tool help?

Page 7

Keep connected to ICCPM through iccpm.com, find us on Twitter
(@ICCPM) and participate in the LinkedIn discussion group.